Curated OER
Pear-Shaped Bottle
Young scholars describe the designs on this Chinese ceramic bottle and analyze and discuss the shape of the piece. They describe how art from China arrived in Mexico during the viceregal period. Students create their own blue...
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Platter
Students identify the many cultures whose artistic traditions contributed to the art of viceregal Mexico and specifically to this piece of art. They discuss the many influences on the life and society of viceregal Mexico and note the...
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A New Technology: An Early History of Pottery
Students view a presentation on the ancient history of ceramics and gain insight into the early days of pottery making. They also reflect on how new technologies change the world.
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Handbuilding With Joan
Students discover the three basic handbuilding techniques used in beginning pottery: pinch pot, coiling, and slab work. After a lecture/demo, students try their hands at making pottery using the three different techniques.
PBS
Civil War: Face Jug
Learners examine African American art. In this African American history lesson, students research face jugs created by African American freedmen after they watch a video about the artifact and its significance. Learners then create...
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Marshland Ecosystems
Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...
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The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions
Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. As a class, they are introduced to five artists and discuss their art and techniques. Using the internet, they also research the philosophers of the time period and how...
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Clay Animal Sculptures
Students create their own clay sculpture with imaginary or realistic animal features. After drawing at least three sketches, they complete an animal sculpture brainstorming activity. They identify functions of pre-Columbian animal...
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Pablo Picasso - Slab Construction
Middle schoolers create a three or four-sided vessel incorporating abstracted faces on each side. Vessels should be irregular in shape. They demonstrate skills and craftsmanship in working with clay and explore hand-building methods of...
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Creative Clay Houses
Pupils demonstrate knowledge of working with clay and design and make creative houses and other buildings out of clay.
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Puebla Patterned Pots
Sixth graders examine and discuss the characteristics of tin glazed earthenware pottery of Colonial Mexico. They design and create their own Talavera-style plate by applying the concept of radial symmetry.
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Shigaraki Pottery
Young scholars write position papers from the point of view of a Shigaraki art collector in this instructional activity on pottery techniques found in Japan between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods.
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Discover Woodland Culture: Wisconsin Basic Pottery Techniques
Students take a field trip to a local woodland to find pieces of clay. Once they are back in the classroom, they dry the clay throughly and turn it in to clay slip. They watch a PowerPoint presentation on basic art terms and create...
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A New Approach to Developing Images on Clay
High schoolers make story telling plates or tiles based on David Stabely's technique. They are shown slides of original work contemporary artists who are using nontraditional approaches to the clay surface. Students are shown work that...
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Pieces of the Past
Seventh graders compare and contrast the way of life of Native Americans in Texas and around the country. As a class, they brainstorm about the uses of pottery today and use broken pieces of pottery to create an artifact. In groups,...
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Dig This
Fifth graders explore the work of paleontologists and the life of dinosaurs and create a sculpture of the bones of a Stegosaurus. The sculpture was then buried and used by other classes for a dig.
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Creating Sacred and Ritual Masks Within the High School Pottery Classroom
Learners research sacred masks and what they were used for. They are to create their own sacred mask and present them to the class.
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"IMPRESS"ive Pinch Pot Vases
Students discover and perfect basic construction methods and decorative methods of clay and glaze. They create vases using the pinch method and stamping and impressing methods of decorations. They glaze their pots with pre-made glazes.
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As the World Spins
Young scholars research forms of and uses for pottery. They examine the people who created the pottery and create a presentation to exhibit their findings.
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Persuasive Poster
Young scholars examine the effects of visual media in advertising/propaganda and how posters can influence a person's ideas. They create their own persuasive poster to convey a chosen message.
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Community Service Through Art: Empty Bowls
Fifth graders become more aware of the worldwide poverty issues. Through reading books, they can get a feeling for what the daily life of a person who lives in poverty is like. The research skills studied can be used in different subjects.
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Anne Frank: Tiles - Discrimination Themes in Art Production
Young scholars brainstorm a list of past or present acts of discrimination of which they are aware. They think about the feelings of the victims of these acts. They attempt to make a graphic visual of how those feelings might look.
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Show Me a Flowerpot
Students compare and contrast handmade and machine-made products in a study about the evolution of production processes in American history. In this production history instructional activity, students explore a flowerpot in depth....
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Hands-on History of Pottery
Students make pottery in the same evolutionary order as archeology indicates. They begin with simple pinch pots and then move to plain coil pots, manipulative decoration, and surface decoration. For each type of pot they discuss the...